Minimum wage rise could be a Tory winner

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Cameron needs a surprise move to rebuild his party’s image. It may come with a boost for the low paid

Politics, like war, is the art of surprises. Ed Miliband confounded his critics last year with a startling announcement of an energy price freeze that scotched his reputation as a wimp. Nick Clegg astonished voters in the leaders’ television debates, prompting an extraordinary spike in the Liberal Democrats’ poll ratings.

David Cameron won the Tory leadership because he was a different kind of Conservative, who promised to jolt his party out of defeat. Whether he was hugging huskies or empathising with hoodies, supporting gay marriage or promoting greenery, the aim was to make voters think again about the Conservatives. Now,